Apparatus for establishing the capability of a person to distinguish between tones separated by a small interval



Oct. 20, 1959 K. J. YLINEN 2,908,981

APPARATUS FOR ESTABLISHING THE CAPABILITY OF A PERSON T0 DISTINGUISH BETWEEN TUNES SEPARATED BY A SMALL INTERVAL Filed Dec. 11, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 K2406 JOAM/V/Vzi; Jim 0v Oct. 20, 1959 K YLINEN 2,908,981

J. APPARATUS FOR ESTABLISHING THE CAPABILITY OF A PERSON TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN TONES SEPARATED BY A SMALL INTERVAL Filed Dec. 11, 1957 3 SheetsSheet 2 Oct. 20, 1959 J YLINEN 2,908,981

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Inn Inn llll G 0 o United States Patent APPARATUS FOR ESTABLISHING THE CAPABIL- ITY OF A PERSON T0 DISTINGUISH BETWEEN TONES SEPARATED BY A SMALL INTERVAL Klaus Johannes Ylinen, Stockholm, Sweden Application December 1 1, 1957, Serial No, 702,074 Claims priority, application Sweden December 27, 1956 6 Claims. (Cl. 35-3) The present invention relates to an apparatus for establishing the capability of a person to distinguish between tones separated by a small interval.

The apparatus of the invention requires for its use the introduction therein or" a coin, a token or the like. On its way through the apparatus, and before its final dropping into a coin collecting box, the coin actuates means for generating a first tone of a certain pitch and shortly afterwards a second tone which, by chance, may be slightly higher or slightly lower than the first tone, or may possibly be of the same pitch as the latter. The operator of the apparatus then has to mark on marking means belonging to the apparatus the result of his auditive judgement, i.e. he has to mark out whether he has estimated the second tone as being higher or lower than the first one, or possibly as being of the same pitch as the latter. Finally, the apparatus shows automatically on an indicating device, whether the judgement was correct or incorrect.

The main features of the apparatus according to the invention reside in that it is provided with a coin chute and in connection thereto a labyrinth having at least two exits, through which labyrinth the coin moves and, in so doing, will be conducted randomly towards one or another of the labyrinth exits, and with three sound generating devices of which the first one generates a tone which is slightly higher, and the second one a tone which is slightly lower than the tone generated by the third device, and further in that the coin is adapted on its way through the coin chute to cause the third sound generating device to generate a first tone of short duration, and, after its having passed through the labyrinth and dependingon which labyrinth exit it has found its way into, to cause one or the other of the two further sound generating devices to generate a second tone of short duration, the pitch of which tone may thus be slightly higher or slightly lower than the pitch of the first tone, there being further at the labyrinth exits a coin arresting device which is selectively actuatable by the operator of the apparatus by means of at least two control members adapted to mark the result of the persons auditive judgment of the mutual relation between the two tones generated, and upon the actuation of said members the coin is liberated by the arresting device in order, during its continued movement, to establish an indication of whether the auditive judgment result marked by the person is correct or not. 7

According to a further embodiment of the invention,

the labyrinth is provided with three exits, the coin being adapted after its passage through the labyrinth to cause any one of the three sound generators to generate the second tone, the pitch of which may thus be either higher or lower than, or equal to, the pitch of the first tone. In this way a third alternative is introduced whereby the degree of difficulty in forming the estimate can be said to be increased to a certain extent.

It may be possible-particularly if the weight of the coin or token is sufiicient to let the coin itself operate r" 2,908,981 Ce Patented Oct. 20, 1959 the sound generating devices, for instance bells, vibratory rods and the like, through purely mechanical means, and to provide in the casing of the apparatus, below the three exits of the labyrinth a window through which it can be observed which one of the labyrinth exitsthe coin has been released, and thus which sound generating device has been actuated to produce the second tone. In this case this window serves as the indicating device the indication of which may be compared with the previously marked result of the auditive judgment. In most cases, however,

7 it would be more suitable and would lead to an apparatus which is more reliable in operation, if the coin be caused to actuate electric contacts arranged in its path of movement and adapted to close control circuits, firstly, of electrically or electro-magnetically actuated sound generators, for instance electro-magnetically operated hammers striking vibratory suspended bodies, and, secondly, of an optical indicating device using electric lamps for the final display of the correct result.

The invention will be described more in detail hereinafter with reference to the accompanying'drawing illustrating by way of example a preferred embodiment of the apparatus having three labyrinth exits:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus casing and parts contained therein as seen obliquely from the rear.

Fig. 2 is a circuit diagram of the electrical connections.

Fig. 3 is a partly sectioned side view of the labyrinthforming member, a guideway-forming member arranged below the former member, and a coin-arresting device.

Fig. 4 shows the guideway-forming member disposed below the labyrinth-forming member as well as the coinarresting device, as seen from the top of Fig. 3. I

Fig. 5 finally, is a front perspective View of the apparatus on a smaller scale.

The apparatus is enclosed in a flat casing 1 (Fig. 1) having a front wall 2. The top end wall of the casing has provided in a metal plate 3 a slot 4 for the introduction of a coin 5 (Figs. 2 and 5). Disposed beneath the coin slot is an inclined coin chute 6 which conducts the coin introduced to a centrally arranged labyrinth consisting of a plate 7 spaced a short distance from the front wall 2 and having a number of pins 8 abutting the front wall, as well as two edge flanges 9, 9. The pins 8 are arranged in a number of horizontally extending and relatively ofiset rows containing alternately three and four pins in such a Way that centrally between an opening defined by two adjacent pins of any horizontal row there is a pin belonging to the horizontal row situated immediately beneath that row. On its way from the coin chute 6, the coin is guided by a pair of inclined ribs 10, 10 mounted on the inner surface of the plate 7, to an opening 11, to drop down onto the pin 8 situated centrally beneath this opening and in the uppermost horizontal row of pins, after .which it will bounce either to the right or to the left and will drop through the corresponding pin clearance so as to hit the pin 8 of the second horizontal pinrow which is centrally beneath this clearance and from which the coin will again bounce to the right or to the left, and so on, so as, finally, and after having travelled along a random zig-zag path, to reach any one of those three pin clearances or openings 8a, 8b, 8c which are defined by the pins 8 of the lowermost horizontal row and which form the three exits from the labyrinth.

Secured to the front wall 2 a short distance below the pinplate 7 is a plate 12 having four ribs 13 which de fine three vertical guideways 13a, 13b, 13c (Fig. 4) corresponding to the openings in the lowermost horizontal pinrow.

By 14 is designated an arresting device for the coin in the form of a tiltably mounted plate provided with two horizontally extending rows 15, 16 of contact springs. This plate has a forked upper arm 18 engaged by the 2,9os,9s1 c.

bent-over end 19 of a rod 20 which extends vertically upward past three push buttons 21, 22, 23 arranged in the front wall 2 of the casing 1, and the bent-over upper end 24 of which rod is pivotally mounted in a bracket 25 and is'acted' on by a spring 26 which tends to maintain the rod 20 in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 3, in which the upper row 15 of contact springs projects into the clearance 27 between the labyrinth plate 7 and the plate 12 provided with guideways (13a to 130) so asto cause the coin, after its passage through the labyrinth, to be arrested in that one of the labyrinth exits 8a to 80 into which it has found its way.

As will be seen from Figs. 2 and 4, the tilting plate 14 is provided at each corner with a pin 28. The upper two pins of the plate engage brackets 29 attached to the front wall 2, these brackets also carrying leaf springs 30 which exert pressure against said pins whereby, owing to the engagement of the forked arm 18 with the rod end 19, the plate 14 is urged into the position shown in Fig. 3 with the upper row \15 of contact springs projecting into the clearance 27 between the labyrinth plate 7, 8 and the plate 12 situated therebeneath provided with guideways 13a to 130. From this normal position, the plate 14, owing to the fact that actuation of any one of the push buttons 21 to 23 will move the rod end 19 to the left in Fig. 3, is tiltable into a position in which, relative to the front wall 2, the tilt of the same is opposite to that of the firstmentioned position, and in which the contact springs of the upper row 15 are removed from the coin-arresting position shown, and at the same time the contact springs of the bottom row 16 will have been moved into a position to arrest the coin at the bottom end of the plate 12 provided with the guideways.

The plate 14 carrying the contact springs 15, 16, after swinging aside the leaf springs 30, can be removed and turned over so as to render the contact springs accessible for adjustment and cleaning when required.

The apparatus shown includes as sound generating elements three metal bars 31, 32, 33. These bars are supported at their oscillation nodes by four pins 34 attached to one lateral side wall of the casing and are so arranged,

as appears from Fig. 1, that two of the bars 31, 33 are mutually aligned with a suitable clearance between their adjacent ends, while the third bar 32 is mounted in spaced parallel relation to, and behind, the first-mentioned two bars. The lengths of the bars are so dimensioned as to cause the upper bar 31 and the lower bar 33, when struck, to vibrate and generate tones which are very slightly higher and very slightly lower, respectively, than the tone generated by the third bar 32. The tones generated can be auditively perceived through a sound opening 35 arranged in the front wall of the apparatus.

To' make the metal bars vibrate, in the embodiment illustrated, electro-magnetically operated hammers are used. Numerals 36, 37 and 38 designate three electrically excitablecoils which are carried by an angle member 39 secured to the front wall 2. Clo-operating with the coils are displaceable iron cores 40, 41 and 42 which form the strikers or hammers and which are normally held in a certain position by coil springs 43 disposed between one end of the cores and the angle member 39. The arrangement is so devised that, upon excitation of any one of the coils, the associated iron core will have imparted to it a sudden, impulse-like movement to the right in Fig. 1, whereby the corresponding metal bar, 31, 32 or 33, is struck so as to emit a tone.

The electrical circuit diagram is shown in Fig. 2. Designated by 44 is a dry-cell battery disposed within the apparatus casing and serving as the source of current supply. From one terminal of the latter a lead 45 is passed to one terminal 46 of each one of three electric lamps 47, 48 and 49, respectively, which are associated with the three coils 36, 37 and 38 and which are screwed into lamp sockets provided in the front wall 2 V 4 laterally adjacent the three push buttons 21, 22 and 23, respectively. A branch 50 from the lead 45 is connected to one end of one of the coil windings 36, 37, 38.

From the other terminal of the battery 44 a lead 51 is passed to a spring contact 52 which is attached to the front wall 2 a short distance below the throw-in slot 4 so as to cause the coin 5 on its introduction into the apparatus temporarily to close contact between the spring 52 and the plate 3, the latter being in turn connected through a lead 53 to the other terminal of the winding of the intermediate coil 37.

From the other terminals of the windings of all the coils further leads 54, 55, 56 are connected to one contact spring in three pairs 15a, 15b, 150, respectively, of such contact springs which form together the upper row 15 of contact springs on the tiltable plate 14, and which cooperate with the three labyrinth exits 8a, 8b, 80, respectively. The second contact springs in each pair in the upper row 15 are connected through a lead 57 to the terminal of battery 44.

The other terminals 58 of the lamps 47, 48, 49 are connected through leads 59, 60, 61, respectively, to one contact Spring in individual ones of three pairs 16a, 16b and 160 of such contact springs which constitute together the bottom row 16 of contact springs on the tiltable plate 14 and which cooperate with the three exits from the guideways 13a to 130 in the plate 12. The second contact springs of these pairs are connected in common to the terminal of battery 44 through the above-mentioned lead 57.

Numeral 62 designates a terminal block secured to the front plate 2 and having connected to it all the leads from the tiltable plate 14 and from which leads are extended to the other components of the electrical equipment.

Beneath the plate 12 provided with the guideways 13a to 13 there is disposed within the apparatus a collecting box 63 for coins.

Finally, designated by 64 (Fig. 5) is a panel attached to the front face of the casing and carrying instructions as regards the manipulation of the apparatus.

, The operation of the apparatus, briefly stated, is as follows:

A coin 5 is inserted into the coin slot 4 and is depressed into the coin chute 6, which will cause temporary closing of the circuit through the intermediate coil 37 via the contact spring 52, coin 5 and plate 3. This will cause a sudden attraction of the core 41 into the coil so that. its outer end strikes the bar 32 which emits a corresponding tone. The coin 5 then rolls down the coin chute 6 and is guided by the ribs 10 towards the opening 11 and continues in the manner previously described down through the labyrinth 7, 8, so as finally to find its way into any one of the three exits 8a to thereof. Here the coin will be arrested by contact springs belonging to the top row 15 on the tiltable plate 14. The coin, in dependence on the particular labyringth exit in which it is received, will close through corresponding contact springs on this plate the circuit through either of the three coils 36, 37, 38, whereby, in the manner previously described, the core of that coil will receive a motive impulse and, by striking the associated bar, will generate a second tone which may thus, by chance, he of equal pitch to, or may be slightly higher or slightly lower than, the first tone. Now the operator of the apparatus, thus auditively perceiving two consecutive tones, will have to estimate the mutual relation of these tones. After having formed his estimate, he pushes that button 21 to 23 which corresponds to the result at which he has arrived, i.e. the uppermost button 21 if he deems the second tone to be higher than the first tone, the middle-button 22 if he decides that the two tones are of equal pitch, and the lowermost button 23 if he considers the second tone to be lower than the first tone. Pressing the push button through the lever 19, 20 actuates the tiltable plate 14 causing the contact springs of the upper row 15 to release the coin so that the latter drops through the corresponding guideway 13:: to 130 in the member 12 situated beneath the labyrinth and is arrested again by the contact springsof the lowerrow 16 having been moved into their active position throughthe tilting movement of the plate {14. Then, depending 'on which particular guideway is holding it, the coin 5 closes the circuit of the associated lamp 47, 48 or-49, -i.e. the lamp. disposed adjacent the push button corresponding to the correct result. In this way the operator of the apparatus will get an indication as to whether his estimate was a correct one, or not.

Upon releasing the push button, 21 to 23, the same will be urged back into its initial position by the spring 26, the plate 14 being tilted back at the same time causing the contact springs of the lower row 16 to release the coin so that the latter drops into the collecting box 63.

Various modifications of the apparatus described are, of course, conceivable within the scope of the claims. The term coin as used in the claims should be considered to include not only real coins but also any bodies functionally equivalent thereto, such as tokens or the like.

What 1 claim is:

1. Apparatus for establishing the capability of a person to distinguish between tones separated by a small interval, characterized in that it is provided with a coin chute and in connection thereto a labyrinth having at least two exits, through which labyrinth the coin moves and, in so doing, will be conducted randomly towards one or another of the labyrinth exits, and with three sound generating devices of which the first one generates a tone which is slightly higher, and the second one a tone which is slightly lower than the tone generated by the third device, and further in that the coin is adapted on its way through the coin chute to cause the third sound generating device to generate a first tone of short duration, and, after its having passed through the labyrinth and depending on which labyrinth exit it has found its way into, to cause either of the two further sound gen erating devices to generate a second tone of short duration, the pitch of which tone may thus be slightly higher or slightly lower than the pitch of the first tone, there being further at the labyrinth exits a coin arresting device which is selectively actuatable by the operator of the apparatus by means of at least two control members adapted to mark the result of the persons auditive judgment of the mutual relation between the two tones generated, and upon the actuation of said members the coin is liberated by the arresting device in order, during its continued movement, to establish an indication of whether the auditive judgment result marked by the person is correct or not.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the labyrinth is provided with three exits and in that the coin is adapted after its passage through the labyrinth to cause any one of the three sound generating devices to generate the second tone, the pitch of which may thus be either higher or lower than, or equal to, the pitch of the first tone.

3. In an apparatus for establishing the capability of a person to distinguish between tones of slightly different pitch, a supporting structure including a substantially vertical panel, a number of substantially horizontal rows of pins on said panel, alternate ones of said rows being horizontally olfset so as to create a labyrinth having a plurality of possible zigzag paths, said labyrinth having an entrance at its upper end and at least two exits at its lower end, a coin chute connected to said upper entrance for inserting a coin to perform a random falling movement through said labyrinth to one of its exits, three sound-generating devices capable of emitting tones of slightly difierent pitch carried by said structure, means mounted in said coin chute and adapted to be actuated by the coin on its way to the labyrinth for causing the sound-generating device emitting the tone of intermediate pitch to sound for a short period, movable means arranged at the exits of the labyrinth for arresting the coin and adapted to be actuated by said coin in dependence of the exit into which it has found its way for causing at least one of the sound-generating devices emitting tones of lower and higher pitch to sound, a marking device carried by said structure and manually operable by the person being tested for marking the result of his estimate of the pitch of the second tone relatively to that of the first tone and for actuating said movable arresting means so as to release the coin and allow it to continue the falling movement, and means adapted to be actuated by the coin during said continued movement for indicating the correct relation between the two emitted tones as regards pitch.

4. In an apparatus for establishing the capability of a person to distinguish between tones of slightly different pitch, a supporting structure including a substantially vertical panel, a number of substantially horizontal rows of pins on said panel, alternate ones of said rows being horizontally offset so as to create a labyrinth having a plurality of possible zigzag paths, said labyrinth having an entrance at its upper end and at least two exits at its lower end, a coin chute connected to said upper entrance for inserting a coin to perform a random falling movement through said labyrinth to one of its exits, three bodies capable of being set in vibration to emit tones of slightly different pitch carried by said structure, electro magnetically operated hammers and circuits for the same for causing said bodies to emit tones, a first contact device in said coin chute and adapted to be closed by the coin on its way to the labyrinth for causing the body emitting the tone of intermediate pitch to sound for a short period, a plate member tiltably mounted on said structure below the exits of the labyrinth, further contact devices mounted on said tiltable plate below the exits of the labyrinth and adapted in a first and normal position of the plate to arrest the coin when the same leaves the labyrinth and to be closed by it for causing at least one of the bodies emitting tones of lower and higher pitch to sound, this depending upon the exit to which the coin has found its Way, manually operable means for tilting said tiltable plate into a second position for releasing the coin, and means adapted to be actuated by the coin on its further way for indicating the correct relation between the two successively emitted tones as regards pitch.

5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the means for indicating the correct relation between the two successively emitted tones comprising contact devices also mounted on said tiltable plate and adapted to arrest the coin in the second position of said plate, electric lamps mounted on said panel and electrically connected to said contact devices, push buttons mounted on the panel in juxtaposition to said lamps for tilting said tiltable plate into its second position whereby the coin will be arrested by one said contact device and, in closing the same, cause the corresponding electric lamp to be lighted, and spring means for tilting said plate back into its normal position.

6. In an apparatus for establishing the capability of a person to distinguish between tones of slightly different pitch, a supporting structure including a substantially vertical panel, a number of substantially horizontal rows of pins on said panel, alternate ones of said rows being horizontally offset so as to create a labyrinth having a plurality of possible zigzag paths, said labyrinth having an entrance at its upper end and at least two exits at its lower end, a coin chute connected to said upper entrance for inserting a coin to perform a random falling movement through said labyrinth to one of its exits, three bodies capable of being set in vibration to emit tones of slightly difierent pitch carried by said structure, electro-magnetically operated hammers and circuits for the same for causing said bodies to emit tones, a first contact device in saidcoin chute and adapted to be closed by the coin on its way to the labyrinth ,for causing the body emitting the tone of intermediate pitch to sound for a short period, a plate member tiltably mounted on said structure below the exits of the labyrinth, further contact devices mounted on said tiltable plate below the exits of the labyrinth and adapted in a first and normal position of the plate to arrest the coin when the same leaves the labyrinth and to be closed by it for causing at least one of the bodies emitting tones of lower and higher pitch to sound, this depending upon the exit to which the coin has found its way,

manually operable means for tilting said tiltable plate 8 into a second position for releasing the coin means adaptedto be actuated by the coin on its further way for -indicating'the'correct relation between the. two su'ccessively emitted-tones as regards pitch,'\a receptacle mounted beneath said'labyrinth'into which receptacle the coin'dro'ps, and a guideway-forming member for guiding the coin from the labyrinth into said receptacle.

References Cited in the file of thisv patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 597,965 Emeis Jan. 25, 1898 

